Electrical pickup for guitar and combination

ABSTRACT

An electrical pickup for a classical guitar, adapted to straddle the strings adjacent the neck and to be supported on the sound table at points adjacent opposite lateral sides of the heel, with the microphone portion of the pickup extending over said strings at a location approximately midway between the nut and bridge. A quick releasable securing element on the pickup is in releasable engagement with and extending below the neck, and also with the table along an edge of the hole, releasably holds the pickup in the aforesaid position on the guitar, and a jack on the pickup electrically connected with the microphone provides for a detachable jack plug that is connected with an amplifier. The guitar itself is not altered in any manner to apply or remove the pickup.

ite States Patent [191 Williams [451 @ct.9,l973

[ ELECTRICAL PICKUP FOR GUITAR AND COMBINATION Filed: Feb. 5, 1973 Appl.No.2 329,711

US. Cl. 84/329, 84/l.l5 Int. Cl. Gl0h 3/00 Field of Search 84/l.l4-1.l6,329

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,725,778 12/1955 Cronwell84/l.l6 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 354,301 8/1931 Great Britain84/l.l5

Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-U. WeldonAtt0rneyMark Mohler et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT An electrical pickup for a classical guitar, adapted tostraddle the strings adjacent the neck and to be supported on the soundtable at points adjacent opposite lateral sides of the heel, with themicrophone portion of the pickup extending over said strings at alocation approximately midway between the nut and bridge. A quickreleasable securing element on the pickup is in releasable engagementwith and extending below the neck, and also with the table along an edgeof the hole, releasably holds the pickup in the aforesaid position onthe guitar, and a jack on the pickup electrically connected with themicrophone provides for a detachable jack plug that is connected with anamplitier. The guitar itself is not altered in any manner to apply orremove the pickup.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures ELECTRICAL PICKUP FOR GUITAR AND COMBINATIUNSUMMARY The employment of electrical pickups of electromechanicaltransducers, in which the coil of an electrical conductor around amagnet, or pole pieces, comprises the microphone portion for connectionwith an amplifier to amplify the sound from the guitar, is old. Suchpickups merely convert the vibrations of the guitar strings intoelectrical symbols.

l leretofore such pickups have been incorporated in electrical guitars,or have been installed on classical guitars, the latter type beingguitars of the conventional type antedating the advent of electricalguitars, and which may be used with or without an electrical pickup.However such pickup attachments have heretofore been positioned betweenthe strings and the sound table, and in many instances in a positionextending across the hole in the sound table. Also the pickups have beensupported on portions of the sound table well spaced from the sides orbouts, and the guitar has been altered by forming a hole or holes forpassage of the amplifier cord.

The attachments above described usually necessitate a modification ofthe guitar, and the sound quality of the guitar, and volume are impaireddue to the contact with the sound table at a point or points where thetable should be free from any impairment of its natural resonance.

Another objection to conventional pickups heretofore available is thedifficulty of attaching and removing them from a classical guitar.Heretofore the time involved in merely attaching an electrical pickup toa classical guitar may take from approximately 15 minutes to severalhours. This timeis too long for professional players, in particular,where quick removal of the pickup and reattachment are desired, andwhere time and the highest quality of amplified and unamplified soundare desired from the same guitar at different times.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an electricalpickup that is free from the objections hereinabove mentioned.

Another specific object of the invention is the provision of anelectrical pickup that may be attached to and removed from a classicalguitar within several seconds of time, and which pickup and attachingmeans does not mar or injure such guitar, and no alteration whatsoeverof the guitar is required.

An added object of the invention is the provision of an electricalpickup that is more economical to make than heretofore, and which pickupmay remain on the guitar when not connected with an amplifier, withoutimpairing the natural resonance of the table of the guitar.

A still futher object of the invention is the provision of an electricalpickup for a guitar, that is adapted to be supported in a position onthe body of the guitar closely adjacent the heel of the neck, and themicrophone of which pickup will extend over and transversely across andabove the strings at the heel and in which position it will beapproximately midway between the bridge and nut; and an added object isthe combination of such electrical pickup and a guitar.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the description anddrawings.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the body and partof the neck (including the nut adjacent the peg head) showing the pickupin a position on a classical round hole guitar.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view along line 3-- 3 of FIG. ll.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the pickup of FIG. I separate from aguitar, with the bail in closed position.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the body and part of the neck of an f-holeguitar.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modification of the device of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 4, which shows the pickupseparate from the guitar, the main body of the pickup, which includesthe microphone, is a horizontally elongated body generally designated llcarrying the microphone portion 2 (FIG. 2) therein extendinglongitudinally thereof, which microphone in itself is conventional inthat it comprises either a horizontally elongated magnetic core withinthe winding of a conductor, which core is adapted to extend the width ofthe group of strings, or magnetic, separate, adjustable pole piecesrespectively spaced to be opposed to each pair of strings when the body11 is in a position extending transversely across the strings of theguitar. The conductor around the core or separate pole pieces, isconnected with a jack 3 (FIG. 2) that, in turn, may be connected withthe conventional amplifier by a releasable jack plug 4 on the amplifiercord 5. Either of such microphone portions for guitars are old andcommercially available.

In the present instance, the pickup body may be of plastic within whichthe microphone portion 2 is positioned, which body includes legs 6, 7(H68. 2, 3) projecting to one side of body ll from the ends of thelatter.

Legs s, 7 project the same distance from the ends of the body of thepickup, and their terminal outer ends have flat faces adapted to seatagainst the sound table 8 of the guitar closely adjacent the portion 9of heel 10 (FIG. 3) that is on the neck II of the guitar. This portion 9is the portion that is within the main body of the guitar and the upperbout or side 12 of the guitar at each side of the heel extends acrossthe outer side of said heel portion 9 into vertical recesses H3 in thesides of the heel wherein the terminating end edges of the upper boutare secured. The portion 114 (FIG. 3) of the heel 10 that is outside thebout H2 relative to the inside of the guitar body is usually somewhatconical in horizontal cross-sectional contour (FIG. ll) having a roundedapex I5 (FIG. 1-3) facing away from the body, the portion 14 beingprogressively less in its cross-sectional dimensions as it projectsdownwardly from the neck III (FIG. 3).

The above structure is formed in most, if not all, clas sical guitars.

Classical guitars of the round hole type have a round hole 16 formed inthe table 8 and across which the strings I7 extend. The strings extendfrom the peg head at the outer end of the neck ll 11 across a transverseridge or nut 1 over and longitudinally of the fret-carrying fingerboard1% that is on the upper side of the neck II to and across the bridgesaddle to string-securing pegs adjacent the bridge.

The fingerboard 19 normally terminates at one end adjacent hole 16.

With the legs 6, 7 of the pickup 1 supported on the table approximatelyat the upper bout 12 and adjacent the opposite sides of the portion 9 ofheel 14, the natural resonance of the sound table itself is notimpaired.

'Legs 6, 7 are of a length to support the microphone portion 2 spacedabove and extending across the strings 17 when the legs support thepickup in the above position.

The preferred attachment for holding the pickup in its above position,comprises a spring wire generally designated 23 (FIGS. 1, 4) a length ofwhich extends generally longitudinally of the neck 11 and finger boardand transversely across the upper surface of the body of pickup 1adjacent leg 7, said upper surface being recesses at 24 (FIG. 2) for'rotatably and slidably receiving said wire and securing it to saidbody. A bearing cap 24' may be releasably secured by screws or by anyother suitable means across the recess 24 and the portion of the wiretherebelow.

The forward portion of wire 23 (FIGS. 1, 4) is the portion 25 adapted toextend from the pickup body over the table 8, and said portion has ahook 26 at its terminal forward end that is adapted to extend across andengage the marginal portion of hole 16 at one side of the set of strings17.

The length of the forward portion 25 of the spring wire, such as pianowire for example, is such that the hook 26 may readily be manuallysprung inwardly relative to opening 16 to engage the edge of the openingwhen the pickup is secured in its operating position and sprung away torelease the pickup.

The rearward portion 27 (FIG. 4) of the wire 23 (FIG. 4) comprises abail extending generally downwardly, when the guitar is horizontal, inthe form of a U, having legs 29, 30 and a cross element 31 connectingthe outer ends of the legs.

The leg 30 terminates in an outwardly projecting, pointed, end portion32 (FIG. 2) that is adapted to engage the inner lateral side of arearward projection 33 (FIGS. 3, 4) of leg 6 and to hold the bailclosed. The leg 30 will be formed to normally spring outwardly relativeto leg 29 andv must be swung inwardly against the resiliency of the wireto position the pointed end portion 32 between the legs 6, 7 forspringing outwardly with the pointed end of portion 32 in holdingengagement with the leg 6. This structure enables the bail to accomodateitself to slightly different variations in the dimensions of thedepending forward end of neck 11 that forms part of the heel.

The cross element 31 on the bail has an arcuately formed intermediateportion 34 that is rubber covered, and in the concave side of which therounded edge of the portion 14 of the neck is adapted to engage.

In operation, the pickup body may quickly be clamped onto the guitar inits desired position, as seen in FIG. 1, by swinging the bail 28 fromopen position to closed position with the portion 34 of the bail snuglyagainst the portion 14 of the neck and then springing the hook 26 intoengagement with the edge of hole 16.

The longitudinal slidability of the portion 25 of the clamps relative tothe body of the pickup element, enables the clamp to adjust itself toslight variations in the position of hole 16 relative to the upper bout,and to variations in the diameters of the holes.

The portion 23 may, of course, be forceably bent to enable the clamp toaccomodate itself to the wider variations, without altering its mannerof operation. In the case of the f-hole guitars, the structure is thesame with the exception that the forward length 34 of the wire clamp(corresponding to portion 23 in FIG. 1) is longer and may be bent towardthe f-opening 35 into which hook 36 isto be engaged.

The modification shown in FIG. 6 substitutes an elastic band 38 for thebail 28, one end of which is adapted to be secured to one leg 39 of thepickup body, while the other leg carries a projection 40 adapted toselectively receive one of the openings 41 in the other end of the hand.A spring wire 42 similar to the length 23 of the wire clamp shown inFIG. 1, may slidably extend through the plastic body of the pickup andbe secured in adjusted position against longitudinal and rotary movementby a set screw 43. If desired a pair of such wires may be used, by anadditional wire 44 similarly supported and secured to the pickup.

Each wire is formed with a hook 45 at its outer end for yieldableengagement with the edge and marginal portion of the hole in the soundtable.

In both forms of the invention, the microphone portion of the pickup isa position spaced above the guitar strings in a location for respondingto the vibrations of the strings and to the unimpaired resonance of thesound table as transmitted to the heel-supported marginal portion of thesound table. The combination of string and wood vibrations provides asuperior amplified sound, both in quality and volume, and the player mayalmost instantly remove the pickup and replace it.

The quick detachable jack plug elimintes any likelihood of damage to theguitar should the amplifier cord be accidentally jerked by someonetripping over it.

It is understood that the term classical guitar" refers to accousticalguitars which derive their tones from the wood and strings that respondto an electrical pickup.

I claim:

1. An electrical pickup for a stringed musical instrument, such as aguitar, having a main body with a sound table with a hole therein; aneck projecting from one side of said body and secured at one endthereto by a heel; and a row of parallel tensioned strings respectivelyextending longitudinally from the other end of said neck over the latterto a bridge secured on said sound table in a position spaced within thebounds of its edges, comprising:

a. a horizontally elongated body including a pair of legs respectivelyat each of the ends thereof projecting to one side;

b. said legs being spaced apart a distance greater than the width .ofsaid set of strings, and of lengths to support the portion between saidlegs in operative position spaced above said set of strings when theterminal outer end surfaces of said legs are against said table;

c. a microphone carried by said portion extending between said legsfacing and spaced over each of the strings of said row when said portionis supported by said legs in said position; and

d. means for holding said terminal end surfaces against said sound tableat points thereon adjacent the heel of the neck of said instruments; and

e. means for connecting said microphone with an amplifier.

2. In a pickup as defined in claim 1:

f. said means for holding including an elongated member extending fromand connected with the ends of said body and adapted to extnd below theneck of such instrument adjacent said heel in bolding relation when saidportion of the body between said legs is supported by the latter in saidoperative position.

3. in an electrical pickup as defined in claim 2:

g. said means for holding further including an elongated, resilientelement, connected at one end with said body and adapted to extendtherefrom to the edge of the hole in said sound table when said portionbetween said legs is supported by said legs in said operative position;and

h. table engaging means on the opposite end of said elongated elementadapted to extend across the edge of such opening and to yieldablyengage said edge and the marginal portion of the sound table along saidedge when said elongated member is in said holding relation.

4. In an electrical pickup as defined in claim 3:

i. said elongated member being in the form of a bail,

one end of which is integral with and in continuation of said elongatedelement adjacent one of the legs of said body, and said bail andelongated member being rotatably carried on said body for swinging theother end of said bail about the juncture between said elongatedelement, and for rotation of said table engaging means; and

j. means on said other end of said bail for releasably engaging theother leg of said body at different points when said bail is closed.

5. In an electrical pickup device as defined in claim k. said bail andsaid elongated element being a continuous length of spring wire, andsaid table engaging means being a hook adapted to extend across the edgeof said opening when said bail and said elongated element are in bodyholding position with the portion of said body between said legs in saidoperative position.

6. In combination with a classical guitar having a main body providedwith a sound table having a hole therein; an elongated neck projectingfrom one side of said body; a heel below said sound table at one edgethereof connecting one end of said neck with said body; a row of stringsin spaced relation extending over and longitudinally of said neck fromthe outer end of the latter to a bridge on said sound table:

a. an electrical pickup including a microphone and an amplifier cord forconnecting said microphone with an amplifier;

b. supporting means for supporting said microphone on said sound tablein a position spaced over said row of strings at said heel;

c. and holding means for holding said microphone on said guitar in saidposition.

7. In the combination as defined in claim 6:

d. said supporting means including a microphone support having a pair oflegs respectively adjacent each of the end strings of said row inengagement with said sound table at points adjacent said heel; saidholding means including an elongated member connected with saidmicrophone support adjacent said legs extending below said neck at saidheel, and an elongated element connected with said microphone supportand extending to said hole, and table engaging means on said elongatedelement in releasable engagement with said sound table at said hole.

1. An electrical pickup for a stringed musical instrument, such as aguitar, having a main body with a sound table with a hole therein; aneck projecting from one side of said body and secured at one endthereto by a heel; and a row of parallel tensioned strings respectivelyextending longitudinally from the other end of said neck over the latterto a bridge secured on said sound table in a position spaced within thebounds of its edges, comprising: a. a horizontally elongated bodyincluding a pair of legs respectively at each of the ends thereofprojecting to one side; b. said legs being spaced apart a distancegreater than the width of said set of strings, and of lengths to supportthe portion between said legs in operative position spaced above saidset of strings when the terminal outer end surfaces of said legs areagainst said table; c. a microphone carried by said portion extendingbetween said legs facing and spaced over each of the strings of said rowwhen said portion is supported by said legs in said position; and d.means for holding said terminal end surfaces against said sound table atpoints thereon adjacent the heel of the neck of said instruments; and e.means for connecting said microphone with an amplifier.
 2. In a pickupas defined in claim 1: f. said means for holding including an elongatedmember extending from and connected with the ends of said body andadapted to extend below the neck of such instrument adjacent said heelin holding relation when said portion of the body between said legs issupported by the latter in said operative position.
 3. In an electricalpickup as defined in claim 2: g. said means for holding furtherincluding an elongated, resilient element, connected at one end withsaid body and adapted to extend therefrom to the edge of the hole insaid sound table when said portion between said legs is supported bysaid legs in said operative position; and h. table engaging means on theopposite end of said elongated element adapted to extend across the edgeof such opening and to yieldably engage said edge and the marginalportion of the sound table along said edge when said elongated member isin said holding relation.
 4. In an electrical pickup as defined in claim3: i. said elongated member being in the form of a bail, one end ofwhich is integral with and in continuation of said elongated elementadjacent one of the legs of said body, and said bail and elongatedmember being rotatably carried on said body for swinging the other endof said bail about the juncture between said elongated element, and forrotation of said table engaging means; and j. means on said other end ofsaid bail for releasably engaging the other leg of said body atdifferent points when said bail is closed.
 5. In an electrical pickupdevice as defined in claim 4: k. said bail and said elongated elementbeing a continuous length of spring wire, aNd said table engaging meansbeing a hook adapted to extend across the edge of said opening when saidbail and said elongated element are in body holding position with theportion of said body between said legs in said operative position.
 6. Incombination with a classical guitar having a main body provided with asound table having a hole therein; an elongated neck projecting from oneside of said body; a heel below said sound table at one edge thereofconnecting one end of said neck with said body; a row of strings inspaced relation extending over and longitudinally of said neck from theouter end of the latter to a bridge on said sound table: a. anelectrical pickup including a microphone and an amplifier cord forconnecting said microphone with an amplifier; b. supporting means forsupporting said microphone on said sound table in a position spaced oversaid row of strings at said heel; c. and holding means for holding saidmicrophone on said guitar in said position.
 7. In the combination asdefined in claim 6: d. said supporting means including a microphonesupport having a pair of legs respectively adjacent each of the endstrings of said row in engagement with said sound table at pointsadjacent said heel; e. said holding means including an elongated memberconnected with said microphone support adjacent said legs extendingbelow said neck at said heel, and an elongated element connected withsaid microphone support and extending to said hole, and table engagingmeans on said elongated element in releasable engagement with said soundtable at said hole.